I think the message as it applies here is that we shouldn't be afraid of using synthetics in lawn care just because they contain chemicals. Just because something has an "ingredient" with a funny looking name that may be hard to pronounce doesn't mean that it's necessarily bad or wouldn't be produced naturally. For example, organic fertilizers can cause chemical run off just like synthetic fertilizers. Somewhat off topic, someone asked me what I was feeding my dog because her fur was so shiny and smooth. This person couldn't believe when I told her that I feed her bagged, dry dog food from the pet store. "All those chemicals and artificial ingredients! It's just not natural!" This person fed her dog a raw diet, and I guess she was assuming that plopping a round of filet mignon into the food bowl was somehow more natural than dog food. To me, that's just as unnatural. (Her dog was also suffering from conditions that may or may not have been related to diet, including terrible fur quality and weak bone issues...) Giving a dog a T-bone is as unnatural as dropping countless pounds of soy meal in a lawn to feed it., just as broadcasting Scotts Lawnfood is equally unnatural to feeding your dog dry kibble. There is nothing natural about a lawn (or farming or gardening, for that matter). There was an entire hoopla about this years ago, which is why the word "organic" is used where "natural" used to be. Lawns do not exist in nature without human intervention. Stop mowing, feeding and weeding the lawn for a single season and you will see my point. In nature, success would be a single seed out of thousands germinating and surviving log enough to produce more seed. In the man made lawn, success is typically 85-90% germination at a minimum, with the constant upkeep to ensure proper care for many years, and the prevention of any grass plants from producing seed. At any rate, I was going for a lighthearted post with that image and not something of serious analysis.

There are a couple of points to be made that seem to have been overlooked. Dry organic fertilizers used with container plantings are going to be pretty ineffectual. Commercial bagged container or potting soils tend not have the necessary populations of soil organisms required to break them down into a plant usable form. OK for any inground planting but not for containers, despite what the label might indicate. While some nutes might get assimilated and absorbed or taken up by the plants, most of it will be wasted. If you want to stick to organics - ideally not really advised for any containers - then stick with fully liquid ones. That the dry stuff has developed a 'mold' is not unreasonable. Fungal organisms live off the organic matter these products contain and the 'mold' is just the visible sign of these natural decomposers. They will also appear in regular old and unfertilized potting soil as well, as a good percentage of that is also organic matter. In and of themselves they are harmless and won't adversely affect the plants - they feed off of or decompose dead OM, not live plant tissue. But they are often an indication that the potting soil is being kept overly moist and that CAN harm the plants!

Thank you guys for your responses. I wasn't able to get a hold of compost this year but I hear you that it's the best thing out there and I hope to get some when I can. I have some plants in containers, but most are in ground. I do know about watering so that it drains out the containers to get rid of excess salts. What about in the ground? I have bananas in a certain area that has rocks as the edges. Every so often I like to flood the area (very rarely) to water deeply and also to get rid of excess salts but here's the thing. There is no outlet for the water, I mean that the water doesn't drain out somewhere, it just soaks into the ground. Does that still get rid of salts or do I have to actually provide a way for the water to drain outside the garden area. Sorry for this silly question. Z

We better hurry & ask our questions, unless we want to pay $15.00 beginning Feb. 15.